NYU Langone’s Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine is at the forefront of clinical research, aiming always to advance understanding of and treatments for pulmonary diseases in children.

The division is participating in an original study of the microbiome of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts to determine whether bacteria that live in the airway change with disease. Working in conjunction with the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, researchers have studied the microbiome in pediatric patients with chronic cough, determining that the lower-airway microbiota in these patients is affected by microbial continuity between different mucosae and distinct dysbiotic signatures.

In addition, research collaborations between NYU Langone’s Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Center and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation have led to improvements in quality of life and longevity for people with the condition.

Research efforts are directed toward management of severe uncontrolled asthma in children. Investigators in the division have discovered that aerodigestive eosinophils are frequently present in children who have severe uncontrolled asthma, suggesting that aerodigestive eosinophilic inflammation may be a factor to consider in management of the disease.

As a Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Center, division members are conducting a research-based evaluation of the use of nasal nitric oxide to diagnose pulmonary disease in children over the age of 5.